Mister Baseball goes to Cuba.

I got this story straight from the horse's mouth and have no reason to doubt it. Some of the names have been changed to prevent embarrassment as have the nationalty of a certain businessman.

This took place in the 1980s at a time when Cuban/American relations were at a low.

Anyone that worked on the Schuylkill River or Delaware River waterfront twenty years ago knows this guy. He was often referred to as 'Mister Baseball'. His name was Harvey and the title was well deserved. His passion in life was attending baseball games. He was not a human encyclopedia of baseball statistics. He just liked watching the game being played.

The company he worked for knew is and allowed him to rearrange his schedule during baseball season. The man was known not only nationwide but all over the world for attending baseball games.

It was common knowledge that the man had set the world record for watching the most major league type baseball games in a single day. Somehow he managed to jump the International Date Line and got two Tuesdays out of the same week and caught a game in Japan or whatever. I don't remember the fine details.

His very modest home was paid for and he lived small in order to be able to afford to travel all over the place to attend games. He was known in Japan and parts of South America and many baseball fans all over the world knew him on sight. 

He didn't like fancy press box seating. He just liked sitting in the bleachers with the fans. He was a pretty humble sort of guy, actually.

Anyway, he was down in South America watching baseball games one time and commented to someone that he wished he could check out a game in Cuba but couldn't because of the blockade. The man he was talking to was a wealthy South American businessman who asked Mr. Baseball why he could not go to Cuba. Harvey pointed out the economic blockade that the United States had imposed on the Cubans.

The businessman pointed out that Harvey could visit Cuba. He just couldn't spend any money in Cuba. Harvey said that in effect that the rule made in impossible. He would have to pay for something to eat and a place to sleep.

"Not if I'm paying for it," answered the businessman. I'm not an American national and I can spend as much money as I want in Cuba. "Let's go watch a baseball game in Cuba. I'm buying."

Harvey jumped at the chance and they were on the next flight to Havana together.

They passed through customs and the instant they saw Harvey's American passport a pair of customs inspectors took one look at it, stared at each other and probably instantly thought 'American State Department!'.

Harvey looked at them and said humbly, "I know our countries don't get along very well but I just came here to watch baseball. I want to go to a game here."

Now at this point you have to know Harvey. He was a very overweight good natured likeable slob. He was not very well dressed. He took the term 'casual' to another level. He was an innocent, simply one of God's children. One look at him and you knew on sight he was incapable of being any kind of secret agent or any act of unkindness. He was also one of the most likeable people I have ever met.

He wasn't interested in politics and paid little attention to most of what was going on in the world. He simply didn't care. His love was simply baseball.

He was taken from the line, pulled into an adjacent room and questioned for some time. The Cuban customs people didn't know what to do with him. He was obviously NOT an agent of any kind and was probably in Cuba for his stated purpose. He was just some guy that wanted to watch a few baseball games. 

The customs people didn't know what to do. People of anywhere didn't go to Cuba or for that matter anywhere out of their home towns to watch baseball games. If they like the sport they generally stay home and watch the games there.

Yet here was with his enormous bulk. A shabbily dressed smiling gringo standing in front of them with a huge disarming beaming smile on his face wanting to come and watch a couple of baseball games.

There was no policy or anything in 'the book' to cover something like this. The shocked customs people didn't know what to do.

Before I go any further I seriously believe that only difference between the Cuban customs officials and any other customs officials in the world is the native language they speak. They are minor government bureaucrats that pretty much do what they are told.

Customs officials are given a certain amount of authority but it is somewhat limited. They are there to enforce customs rules and regulations. They do not make the rules or foreign policy. 

Phone calls were made, a couple of higher-ups entered the office and still nobody knew what to do with him. He was in violation of no Cuban laws and according to him and his South American sponsor the two of them were simply there to watch a baseball game or two. Nothing more, nothing less.

Once everything got sorted out he emerged from the questioning wearing a large badge of some sort that he was required to wear for the time he was in Cuba. His passport was properly stamped and he and his sponsor were released.

The badge he was given to wear declared him to be a special guest of the Cuban govenrment! What a gracious thing to do! Then again, if you knew Harvey you would not be surprised. Not even a little bit.

He and the businessman got to attend a couple of Cuban baseball games and were treated royally. Harvey and his businessman friend got to watch a couple of baseball games in Cuba. Harvey said he 'got to sit in the bleachers with the fans'. He said he had a great time. That was Harvey. Anything to watch a baseball game!

Of course he got hassled upon his return Stateside and was questioned by American customs when they spotted the Cuban stamp in his passport. Harvey said they were worse than the Cubans, who had merely questioned him. American customs threatened him. 

Then they saw his badge proclaiming him to be a guest of the Cuban government  and went crazy. Apparently they had never heard of such a thing happening to an ordinary citizen. They demanded to know what Harvey had done to become a guest of the Cuban government.

Harvey said he didn't know. He told then the Cubans were awful nice to him when they found out he was only there to watch a baseball game. He said he'd like to go back there again and watch another game. Customs didn't know what to do.

Phone calls were promptly made to higher authorities that also didn't know what to do.

Just like he had been in Cuba, he was taken out of the line and taken into a back room and told he was subject to arrest for running the blockade. While the Cubans had certainly questioned Harvey, they never threatened him with anything. He was threatened by US Customs with several charges but he pointed out that he had spent no money in Cuba and was in no violation of law. He was a guest of the Cuban government and of a South American businessman.

They asked him if he had been followed while he was there. He said he didn't know because he didn't care if he was being followed because he was only there to watch baseball games and was doing nothing wrong. What did he talk to other Cubans about? He said he spoke with a few baseball fans that spoke English and they talked about baseball.

The customs men stared at each other agape.

Completely exasperated, American Customs simply released him and sent him on his way.

He mentioned something about a strongly worded letter he got from the American government later on but said he just threw it out and never heard anything about it since.

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While writing this I have taken a couple of 'Google breaks' and discovered that travel to Cuba for an American these days is possible and seems fairly simple. I'm going to look into that. 

The more I deal with the Cuban people from afar the more I wish the government would stop that stupid blockade and open Cuba to trade. Instead of two countries tearing each other down, we could both benefit. Both of our economies would grow and all of us would be better off and have better lives.

Besides Pennsylvania winters are hard on me. It gets cold in the winter in Pennsylvania. It would do me good to visit a warm place full of friendly people next winter.

 

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY